Let's face it, the design of a certain product is one of the most important factors taken into consideration when we decide whether or not we should purchase it, and this is especially true in the case of portable media players. For this reason, the Korean company Samsung has come up with two new devices that combine very interesting playback features with a rather unusual design, namely the S2 "Pebble" MP3 Player and the S3 Slim Portable Media Player.

"Samsung is excited to reveal our newest portable media players with designs that offer consumers a unique, yet subtle way to express themselves while enjoying their favorite mobile entertainment," said Reid Sullivan, Vice President of Digital Audio and Video Marketing at Samsung Electronics America, when talking about the company's latest products. "With the S2 and S3, consumers now have more compact and thin MP3 and portable media player options to choose from without needing to sacrifice overall functionality or multimedia playback."

But let's see now whether Mr. Sullivan is right or it's just a lot of PR talk. Available in black, white, red, green and purple and taking the shape of a rounded, polished stone, the Pebble offers MP3, WMA and OGG file playback for up to 13 hours on a single charge via the rechargeable Li-Poly battery, and includes support for a mobile playlist. The 1GB of internal flash memory provides enough storage space for approximately 16 hours of audio.

All controls are placed along the back face of the Pebble, including play/pause, volume, playback options (standard, random, repeat), and DNSe 2.0 audio enhancements for a straightforward interface that is easy to navigate even without seeing the buttons. A hidden LED along the bottom edge flashes numerous colors and patterns based on the selected playback mode and EQ setting.

On the other hand, the S3 Slim Portable Media Player offers a more classic design, but also features full multimedia functionality. At a mere 0.4 inches thick and 1.8 ounces, the S3 takes up only about the size of a standard business card holder, yet it combines the versatility of a well-rounded music player (MP3, WMA), FM radio and recorder, JPEG photo viewer, video player (MPEG4), text reader and compact game system.

Keeping fashion-conscious consumers in mind, the S3 offers a vibrant selection of shades and tones to accessorize from including green, red, blue, and the classic black and white. The built-in rechargeable Li-Polymer battery can provide a near 25 hours of audio playback and up to 4 hours of video enjoyment - both which pair well with the S3's 4GB of internal flash storage. A 1.8-inch screen, offers enough visual space for watching short video clips and photo slideshows, while the DNSe 2.0 sound engine provides powerful, adjustable sound playback.

Both the S2 'Pebble' MP3 Player with 1GB capacity and the S3 Slim Portable Media Player with 4GB capacity will be available in June 2008. Unfortunately, no pricing details have been provided for the time being, so we'll probably have to wait just a bit longer in order to find out just about how much we'll have to save up in order to get these things.

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